Chapter 42
"Harry you are not going to believe this."
"I don't like the sounds of that!" Harry had come down for breakfast that morning in what could only be described as a blissful mood. He had been surprised by how much peace he had found in the night before. He hadn't slept a lot though. He had watched her while she had slept. She had had a smile on her face all night. What could spoil his mood?
Whatever it was he was sure it wouldn't succeed in that.
He was wrong.
The prophet ran the headline – SISTER OF THE HEADMASTER – Ariana the Abnormal
"You have to be kidding me." He said to Hermione.
'Last year the prophet ran a story on the return of Ariana Dumbledore sister of the headmaster. It was a short cheerful piece, as Albus Dumbledore had wrote himself. But now we can reveal the truth which perhaps we all should have expected – the sister is as mad as her big brother.'
"We cannot let her see this."
"Let who see what?" It was her.
Ariana had her hair tied back in a lose bun, her immaculate uniform on and a smile on her face. She looked as he had felt just minutes earlier.
"Come on tell me Harry." She said to him with a smile.
He knew he had no choice. Showing the headline to her he watched as her face turned away in horror.
"It's ok." She muttered to herself. She didn't know why she had not been expecting this. Her face was a picture of pain as she turned to meet his eyes. "I don't want to read it."
"Then you don't have too." He promised her.
She nodded at his reassurance. Ignorance would remain her bliss and her safe shell this time. Sitting by him she tried to give a weak smile but it was obvious the happiness that they had found in the previous evening had already been cruelly ripped from them both. Hermione could see it in Ariana's eyes. She had been the first person to ask her when she had returned that morning where she had been and she had been the only one who had not been fobbed off by the story that she had gone for an early shower.
Her first class of the day was mercifully was Transfiguration. That meant she had the hour to herself together before she had to face a real class which was not till the end of the day – her very first lesson of Defence Against the Dark Arts. She hoped she was going to pick it up quick enough. She had a feeling she was going to be needing it - and soon.
She arrived at the familiar classroom which her head of house taught in plenty of time for the lessons. She knew McGonagall was going to be late as she had seen her in the hall trying to assort out the first years and time tables. But it was clear when she walked in the room that she had had time to see the prophet. It was written all over her face.
"Are you quite alright Miss Dumbledore?" she asked with a look of genuine concern.
"Yes professor I am honestly fine." She said in a clear voice determined not to let it get to her. Her mother's wand was out of the desk as was her copy of The Standard Book Of Spells: Grade One. They were nearly through it now. By Christmas they should be on top Grade Two. Of tha, McGonagall was sure.
"Shall we continue where we left off?"
"Yes please."
The lesson didn't go as well as either of them had hoped it would. McGonagall told her not to worry with it being the first lesson of a new term and everything. It had been a long summer. She seemed sure that all Ariana needed was to get back in to the swing of her lessons and she was going to be fine again. She had to say that she wished she had her teacher's confidence.
Going down to the lake she sat down. She had to say she didn't think she was going to be this pensive so soon in to a new term. A new wave of longing for Percival and Kendra washed over her but she could feel with that now. She had accepted they were gone. But she was still their daughter. And a year wasn't so long to grieve for those you had loved and lost she thought to herself. But if they were then what could they really do? She wasn't fool enough to think that they might be able to protect her from this? No it was time for her to defend herself.
What good was she to Harry like this though? Getting down over everything that went wrong? She was going to have to toughen up.
"Don't let those jerks at the ministry get you down." She heard a voice say to her from behind. Turning to smile at Sirius she gave the same weak smiled she had offered at breakfast. "I know you know that people like that are going to say and do everything they can to make life difficult for us lot. And particularly for your brother."
"Then they are no better than a group of play ground bully's." She condemned them.
"Good, you noticed." He replied earning a small giggle. "You are stronger than they are kid."
"I know I am."
Her confidence had grown he thought to himself. And it was still growing. They were going to have to hold her down soon ... she was going to be up there with the rest of her class.
"It is too early in the term to look so down. So I am going to give you a piece of advice which I would have hated at your age."
"Which is?"
"To get up to that castle and hit the books. You need to get studying. I'll help you with your Defense work once you get it." He offered.
"Thanks," she beamed. What he was saying was making sense to her. He had a way of getting through to her when she was down.
Ariana was just about to go and do as he said and get to the library when she turned back to him. "What do you make of Professor Umbridge?"
He turned with a look of disgust on his face. "Don't trust her Ari."
"Believe me, I won't."
-
"You know you didn't have to come up here." Ariana was in the library searching for the books she needed when she had seen Aberforth come in. She should have known.
"What was I meant to do, let you deal with this by yourself?"
"For once, yes!"
"Ari."
She knew she was in a foul mood and whatever she said to him in that moment she was going to regret it later on but she couldn't help it. It didn't help that she felt slightly guilty before him for what she had done the night before. She knew he would not approve. If she had a good at him, if she pushed him away it was like she was punishing herself for him.
Job done.
"You know you don't have to rush up here whenever the smallest thing goes wrong for me, I am not going to flip out." She said to him.
"Well I know you won't but I still wanted to check if you were alright."
"A letter would have done that!" she snapped.
He looked at her with understandable confusion. She wasn't even sure why she was reacting to him like this. She had been fine when she had been talking to the others and she had kept what she had been feeling under wraps. And now here he was - the person she knew she was closest to in the world and she was making him deal with all her pent up frustration. He didn't deserve.
"I'm sorry Aba, I don't know why I said that."
He nodded. "I think I do. I'll see you later sister."
He turned to walk away.
"Oh come on you know I don't mean it!" she called after him. "Aberforth!"
But he was gone.
She sighed, knowing she had been absolutely vile to him when all he had down was come to watch her back.
"Damn it."
Vile. That also summed up her first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson pretty well.
-
"He is not a liar." Ariana avoided confrontation whenever she could. She knew it wasn't good for her, or for her progress but when someone started spreading crap about Harry she was not about to sit back and just let it happen. Harry had been about to start defending himself when he had heard the voice of the girl sitting next to him.
"Don't!" He said to her. He was not going to let her get herself in trouble for him but it seemed as if that might be too late.
"Excuse me Miss Dumbledore?" Umbridge asked her in her sickly sweet voice.
"I am saying Harry is not lying, he is back!"
"So then you are saying the ministry is lying, that I am lying" she asked raising an eye brow.
Before she had any real time to think what the consequences of her actions might be, Ariana found herself nodding. Well she might as well go the full hog and back it up with words now, she mused to herself.
"That is exactly what I am saying, Professor."
"Detention – and a trip to your brother I think. Go now."
Harry looked at her desperately but secretly she was rather glad to get out of the lesson. She would far rather face Albus than stay where she was. She offered a nod as a way of saying she was ok, but nothing else.
Taking the note as soon as Umbridge had written it she walked up the office she now knew so well. When she was told to enter by her brother's cheerful voice, she braced herself.
Albus sat in dark blue robes behind his desk, his half moon spectacles hanging on to his nose as he looked at documents.
"Time for our lesson already dear?" he asked but she shook her head. She didn't know why he had asked that, he knew the answer. Of course it wasn't time for their lesson, she thought as she passed the note over and slumped down in the chair before him.
"A bad beginning?" he asked.
"She was spreading lies about Harry. I could not sit back and say nothing." He looked at her knowingly, she knew he wasn't angry. But at the same time she felt the need to explain.
"I know what I should have done. I can hear her voice in my head – 'hold you tongue!'" she said mimicking Kendra. "I knew it was wrong even as I did it. But I couldn't stop." She explained herself to him. "I have had a bad first day back. The article." He nodded to show his understanding. "I have also had a visit from our brother who I was unthinkable rude too."
"As I said – a bad beginning." It was no longer a question. She nodded.
"I am sorry that is so sister – but you will have to take your punishment – even though I think you did nothing wrong. You stuck up for a friend and you showed your courage. No one could ask more than that." He tried to reassure her. It didn't work.
"I am meant to be in class getting to grips with Defence Against the Dark Arts, the most important lesson in my schedule. And instead I am mouthing off to the teacher, having a go at Aba and everything else. I don't know what is up with me! I just feel so mad!" she said frustrated. The connotations of that word were not lost on her brother even if they were to her in that moment.
He nodded sympathetically. "I think this might be a good time to break out the lemon drops."
-
Night time had fell over the castle once again. Just as he had the previous evening Harry waited up for Ariana to come to him which she did, once again at midnight.
Her heart had been heavy ever since that morning and as he took her into his arms he held her tighter than he otherwise might of knowing that more than she ever had before she needed his comfort. It always seemed to be the other way round since he had come back. That he was always the one in need of her. But the comfort was a two way thing.
"What I did to Aberforth was awful. He was only trying to be kind to me and I was a complete –" she shook her head as she laid it on to her chest, and heard his heart beating under his pyjama top. "I am a terrible person."
"Don't you ever let me hear you say that." Said Harry as he put his hand under her chin and made her look up and into his eyes.
It was only then he released her were sparkling with un-cried tears. She had been holding them in all day. It was as if she had been waiting for that moment so she could reveal to him just how much she had got hurt. Anyone else's tears made him uncomfortable. But whenever he saw hers he just wanted to wipe them away and free her of whatever was hurting. But what was hurting her that night were her own actions and so he knew there was nothing he could do for her to make it better. He just had to let her cry it out.
"Oh Baby!" he muttered as she tried to stop crying. She didn't want any of the others to hear she had come to him. "Your wonderful, and things will be better in the morning. I promise. Go to sleep Ariana," he said, stroking her back.
"I'm such a fool," she whispered. Here she was with the most wonderful person she had ever met and all she did was cry. "I'll go back to my own bed if you want me too."
"That is the last thing if want." From now on even if she was crying he wanted the two of them to spend every night like this locked in one another's eyes and arms. "Sleep," he whispered in her ear. She was exhausted.
"Things will be better tomorrow?" she questioned.
"Yes they will be." He nodded and kissed her forehead. He rubbed her back tenderly until she fell in to a dreamless sleep.
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